By Patrick Phillips | August 6, 2020 at 1:34 PM EDT - Updated August 6 at 1:35 PM

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The 2021 Charleston Wine + Food Festival, scheduled for March, has been canceled, organizers announced Thursday.

In a statement, the organization cited “growing concerns around COVID-19 and the state of the industry exists to uplift.”

“This was a tough decision to make. This festival is an important event for the City of Charleston and our favorite way to bring people together to share stories and connect,” Charleston Wine + Food Board of Directors Chair Steve Palmer said. “However, the safety and security of our guests, participating talent, staff, vendors, and community is of the utmost importance and one that should take precedence above all else.”

Charleston Wine + Food organizers say its mission is to produce experiences that celebrate, educate, and promote the Lowcountry’s diverse culinary and hospitality community.

“In place of the in-person 2021 festival, we’ll be offering new ways to uplift the culinary + hospitality community for whom the organization was created to promote and continue our efforts to make Charleston Wine + Food a more inclusive and equitable organization,” Executive Director Gillian Zettler said.

Charleston Wine + Food plans to debut a combination of strategic community partnerships, digital content, and live-streamed conversations and events over the next nine months. It also plans to release its 2022 festival programming and schedule in the late-spring of 2021, which typically occurs annually at the end of August.

The 2022 festival is scheduled for March 2 - 6, 2022.

“While we can’t predict what will happen in the next day, month or year, we do believe we will come together again to celebrate over wine and food,” Zettler said. “Until then, our team will be working hard to design a 2022 festival filled with experiences to ignite a fire in your belly, and inspire curiosity in your heart.”

Over the past 15 years, the five-day annual festival has grown to include more than 120 events and welcome nearly 28,000 guests.

Here is the full statement released Thursday from the Charleston Wine + Food Board of Directors and Staff :

Each year in March we look forward to welcoming members of our culinary + hospitality community from around the world to connect, share, and grow through wine + food-centric experiences. With Charleston as our backdrop and the region’s unique foodways as our muse, this festival has grown over the past 15 years to encompass more than 120 events over 5 days and welcomes nearly 28,000 guests annually.

However, given the growing concerns around COVID-19 and the state of the industry that we exist to uplift, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 festival previously scheduled to be held March 3rd – 7th. This was a tough decision to make – this festival is an important event for the City of Charleston and our favorite way to bring people together to share stories and connect. However, the safety and security of our guests, participating talent, staff, vendors, and community is of the utmost importance and one that should take precedence above all else.

We remain committed to our local culinary + hospitality community for whom the festival was created to uplift and drive business towards. Our mission is to produce experiences that celebrate, educate, and promote the Lowcountry’s diverse culinary + hospitality community.

In place of the in-person 2021 festival, we’re planning other ways to uplift this community and continue our efforts of making Charleston Wine + Food a more inclusive and equitable organization. Through a combination of strategic community partnerships, digital content, live-streamed conversations + events, and a late-spring launch of the 2022 festival programming + schedule, we hope to create meaningful ways for us to connect + support our community until it is safe for us to gather again.

While we can’t predict what will happen in the next day, month, or year, we do believe that we will come together again to celebrate over wine + food. Until then, our team is working hard to deliver a 2022 festival filled with experiences that will ignite a fire in your belly and a hunger in your heart and an organization where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

Copyright 2020 WCSC. All rights reserved.

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